There were upwards of 4500 people protesting war in Forest Park yesterday. The post-dispatch (local Pulitzer company fishwrap) reported a figure of 2500.

***

I delivered copies of the class anthology to Mrs. Wight (2nd grade teacher). She was effusively grateful. Julia came up with the title: "Poems About Everything."

***

I have new books by Davidson (Post Hoc) and F. Howe to read. Maybe Fanny will lead me back to Susan H. again-- a poet I was interested in at one time but haven't been reading so much in the last five years or so. Ron reports younger poets in S.F. no longer know who Ron Silliman is (aside from being author of Silliman's blog). But young people were always lacking in historical sense. (I almost wrote "stupid"). It takes a while to develop this sense of past, even very recent past. They don't know who Creeley or Levertov are either. [Later: This is not too accurate: I was referring to something that Ron had said in his blog: young poets twenty years ago unable to match the names of these poets to their books.]

I'm working on a definition of period style for 1980s U.S. "mainstream poetry." I'll think about it as I drive to Kansas this morning and report back a little later.

***
Wonderful invitations to collaborate in journals and magazines all over the world flow (or trickle) into my email inbox. Keep them coming please!